tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post3486760505847069989..comments2024-03-29T00:30:39.262-05:00Comments on real economics: Why I defend ToyotaJonathan Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217670446743983955noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-53457668618462809312010-03-20T13:02:11.964-05:002010-03-20T13:02:11.964-05:00I am STILL a proud toyota owner. I have loved my v...I am STILL a proud toyota owner. I have loved my vehicles for many years and all the evidence I can gather makes me believe the final story on the Toyota recalls should be that no manufacturer in history has ever gone to such extreme measures to take care of their customers. That's why we love and <a href="http://www.defendtoyota.com" rel="nofollow">defend Toyota</a>.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05417288412298571471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-83946621127113473072010-03-10T21:14:32.705-06:002010-03-10T21:14:32.705-06:00Jonathan, The guy in jail was driving his family...Jonathan, The guy in jail was driving his family home from church when that accident occurred. He sideswiped 4 cars before colliding with a car which held the father and son who were killed. He had no prior entanglements with the law and was meaningfully employed.<br /><br />You really should take a few minutes and do some research on the energy absorbtion capability of brakes. When a car is traveling at speed (high kinetic energy) and full engine power is applied, brake energy dissipation capacity is exceeded, depending on the sizing of the brakes. This is not true at lower speeds, where the kinetic energy is low ... and it is generally not true for SUV's and pickups where the brake is sized for pulling loads ... but in cars, the brake capacity only slightly exceeds the traction limit of the wheels & tires.<br /><br />Why don't you conduct a test? .... run your lexus up to 55 .... floor it and wait for the engine to develop max power .... then fully apply the brakes ... YOU WILL NOT STOP.Paul-Lake-Progressivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14382033843505178761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-78756334363029669062010-03-07T07:49:24.390-06:002010-03-07T07:49:24.390-06:00Jonathan, you are standing up to lawyer thieves pe...Jonathan, you are standing up to lawyer thieves perched on the shoulders of brain-dead morons, with the nice perfume of money floating their way. Good luck, you need it!sakilovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14666876400372282359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-719609777064101722010-03-04T12:01:48.632-06:002010-03-04T12:01:48.632-06:00Really?
Here's the deal. I am not a betting ...Really?<br /><br />Here's the deal. I am not a betting man, but if I were, I would bet that an independent investigation will clear Toyota's name--just like Audi was cleared.<br /><br />Toyota's accusers have the credibility of some drooling moron in rural Alabama who claims an UFO kidnapped him and conducted an anal probe. Here in Minnesota, some guy, in JAIL, claims a 1996 Camry ran away while he was standing on the brakes.<br /><br />Here's a hint--if a story is physically impossible, then it is a lie. In a country where we supposedly have the presumption of innocence, there are folks who will believe a convicted felon over a company that has EARNED the right to be treated as innocent for a LONG time. What a shame.<br /><br />Now I have to run some errands in my "dangerous" Lexus. And I am NOT afraid that some flaw will surface after 135,000 miles to kill me. You want to believe this anti-Toyota BS, please be my guest. Just remember, whatever non-Toyota you drive instead is statistically MUCH more likely to flaws.Jonathan Larsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05217670446743983955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-48816523258561532692010-03-03T19:38:20.323-06:002010-03-03T19:38:20.323-06:00Jonathan,
The 56 families who have experienced ...Jonathan, <br /><br />The 56 families who have experienced loss believe there is a problem. <br /><br />The NY Times today reports multiple incidents of unintended acceleration in supposedly "repaired" vehicles. <br /><br />Your comment that you don't believe what "some damn INSURANCE company" says ... if in fact it was a press release intended to sway public opinion, or sell a policy, that would be one thing, but the DATA was shared with the gov't and Toyota to ALERT them lives were at risk.<br /><br />You go to great lengths to explain the secret to Toyota's success as the "Toyota system" of identifying process variation through data analysis ... but when data suggests Toyota has a problem, you discount or totally ignore the data. I am sure, deep within Toyota, engineers are trying to isolate the key factors causing vehicles to accelerate ... and they are listening to the data ... trying to understand where the process variations are introduced.<br /><br />You, sir, are discrediting the value of your posts.Paul-Lake-Progressivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14382033843505178761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-25413420640414783092010-03-02T09:59:17.064-06:002010-03-02T09:59:17.064-06:00So ABC recreating this computer error doesn't ...So ABC recreating this computer error doesn't count? 56 dead people aren't proof there's a problem?<br /><br />Jonathan, make an effort to read up on this. You're not tracking the real scandal and are instead focusing on the process, not the results.Mark Gislesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05264508885194574116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-44183697425248183372010-03-01T12:00:43.942-06:002010-03-01T12:00:43.942-06:00@Paul
I didn't believe in "unintended ac...@Paul<br /><br />I didn't believe in "unintended acceleration" when it was supposedly a problem for Audi 5000s in 1986 and I don't believe it now--no matter what some damn INSURANCE company says. After all, when all the investigations were finished, Audi was TOTALLY exonerated. And since Toyota sells no car that doesn't have WAY more brakes than motor, I hardly see how this could EVER be a SAFETY issue.<br /><br />@ Gisleson<br /><br />What cover-up? Toyota is already spending over $250,000,000 and sent their president to commit some ritualized hari-kari before Congress for a problem that hasn't been scientifically recreated or otherwise proven to even exist. Toyota saw what happened to Audi when Audi stood up to the mass hysteria caused by CBS and blamed their customers for driver error (which turned out to be true!) So now Toyota is apologizing for things they likely didn't even do.<br /><br />You know, I am always suspicious of the "it wasn't the blowjob, it was the lying under oath" sort of political argument. If a crime wasn't a crime, how can the coverup be a crime.<br /><br />You know, in some ways, Toyota really did bring this on themselves. I was able to drive a Saab 900 for 296,000 miles because whenever I thought about my car, I just told myself to think like a good Swedish engineer. So I made logical maintenance choices. That's how you get premium European cars to last. Toyota, on the other hand, always believed that they could make a car so reliable, it would last even if the owners knew so little about their cars they couldn't even be bothered to read their owner's manual, or their mechanics were fools or crooks. Since the universe of people who know absolutely NOTHING about how their automobile works is virtually infinite, this was a good marketing move. But now they have an infinity of owners who will believe damn near anything. (sigh)<br /><br />You know, I always wonder why things like "unintended acceleration" never happens to people who actually know something about their cars. It is a puzzlement!Jonathan Larsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05217670446743983955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-84591864180413604652010-02-28T17:02:01.968-06:002010-02-28T17:02:01.968-06:00Jonathan, my latest post on this topic is here: ht...Jonathan, my latest post on this topic is here: http://norwegianity.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/the-stupidity-accelerates/. Feel free to take it personally as I am dumbfounded by the way you are confusing engineering quality with not owning up to your screw ups. That link includes a link to a very recent ABC report in which they've identified the problem: the on board computer misfires but doesn't record its own error. <br /><br />The L.A. Times has a long article today that consists almost entirely of horror stories concerning sudden acceleration in Toyotas. Please read those case stories as they do not speak to Toyota bashing so much as WTF pleas from Toyota users to FIX THIS PROBLEM.<br /><br />I love Apple as much as you love Toyota. It would never occur to me to trust Steve Jobs. I like that Steve Jobs makes good computers, but that doesn't make Steve a good person or necessarily trustworthy. <br /><br />Toyota has much to answer for. NOT because they screwed up, but because they covered up their screw up. As with Watergate the crime is the cover up, not the 3d rate computer.Mark Gislesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05264508885194574116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-82731793264031353112010-02-28T16:47:03.574-06:002010-02-28T16:47:03.574-06:00Jonathan - I appreciate your comments and your pas...Jonathan - I appreciate your comments and your passion on this issue - and I agree it is dangerous to tarnish the reputation of Toyota without a thorough understanding of the facts. I also am concerned about defending Toyota without a thorough review of underlying facts. <br /><br />For me, the most concerning fact is the data from the State Farm Accident database. This database contains the most comprehensive vehicle accident data available ... it is maintained more rigorously and has better detail than NHTSA databases. State Farm sent notification to NHTSA and Toyota in 2007 that their database was showing unintended acceleration accident frequencies which were several levels of magnitude beyond baselines (and the levels of other manufacturers).<br /><br />The data says Toyota has a problem.Paul-Lake-Progressivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14382033843505178761noreply@blogger.com